[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 40 (Tuesday, February 29, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Page 10926]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-4770]



[[Page 10925]]

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Part V





Department of Education





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Office of Educational Research and Improvement Field-Initiated Studies 
Education Research Grant Program; Application Review Procedures for New 
Awards for Fiscal Year 2000; Notice

  Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 40 / Tuesday, February 29, 2000 / 
Notices  

[[Page 10926]]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[CFDA No: 84.305T]


Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI) Field-
Initiated Studies (FIS) Education Research Grant Program; Notice of 
Application Review Procedures for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2000

SUMMARY: On November 9, 1999, we published in the Federal Register (64 
FR 61198) a notice inviting applications for new awards for FY 2000 for 
the FIS Education Research Grant Program. This notice explains the 
procedures that we will use to review your application.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:  

Application Review Procedure

    We will use a two-tier review process for the FIS program 
competition for FY 2000. This two-tier process and scoring system are 
authorized by and in accordance with OERI program regulations at 34 CFR 
Part 700, particularly sections 700.21 and 700.30.
    Tier I. At the Tier I level, your application will be assigned to 
at least three reviewers who are selected according to the 
appropriateness of their expertise and experience and who specifically 
meet the qualifications for reviewers established in the regulations at 
34 CFR 700.11. Reviewers will evaluate your application in accordance 
with the three selection criteria in the application package:
    (1) National Significance.
    (2) Quality of the Project Design.
    (3) Quality and Contribution of Personnel.
    Reviewers will weigh the three selection criteria equally to rate 
your application for further consideration as either--
    (1) Very highly recommended;
    (2) Highly recommended;
    (3) Recommended;
    (4) Not recommended, but recommended for resubmission; or
    (5) Not recommended.
    We will arrange a conference call for each review panel to discuss 
their assigned applications and their rankings. For each application, 
reviewers will read only 20-page narratives. As noted in the 
application package, the application narrative must not exceed a total 
of 20 double-spaced pages, with printing on one side of 8\1/2\ x 11-
inch paper. All pages in excess of the 20-page narrative maximum will 
be removed, unread, and returned to the applicant.
    Based on the Tier I reviews, the top 40 applications will advance 
to the Tier II review. For every rating an application receives, we 
will determine the top 40 applications by assigning one of the 
following scores to your application:
    (1) 5 for every ``very highly recommended'';
    (2) 2 for every ``highly recommended'';
    (3) 1 for every ``recommended'' rating; or
    (4) 0 for either of the ``not recommended'' ratings.
    In the event of a tie at the 40th rank, all tied applications will 
advance to the Tier II review.
    Tier II. If your application advances to the Tier II level, it will 
be read and rated by 23 to 27 Tier II reviewers, with written reviews 
completed by at least 3 reviewers. These reviewers will meet the 
qualification for reviewers established in 34 CFR 700.11. The Tier II 
reviewers will apply the same selection criteria as was used in Tier I. 
In Tier II the reviewers will rate your application as--
    (1) Extremely Competitive;
    (2) Very Competitive;
    (3) Competitive; or
    (4) Not Competitive.
    The Tier II reviewers will meet in Washington, DC. During this 
meeting, each application will be discussed with the three reviewers 
who have completed written reviews leading the discussion. Following 
the discussion of each application, all reviewers will assign a final 
rating to the application.
    When all the applications from Tier II have been discussed and 
reviewers have completed their evaluations, we will rank the 
applications to form the recommended slate. We will form the slate 
according to the following score your application receives:
    (1) 3 for each ``Extremely Competitive'' rating;
    (2) 2 for each ``Very Competitive'' rating;
    (3) 1 for each ``Competitive'' rating; or
    (4) 0 for each ``Not Competitive'' rating.
    Applications will then be ranked by average score. In the event 
that a group of applications at the funding cut-off point have an 
identical score, the Assistant Secretary will determine which 
application or applications from that group fill the most critical gaps 
in existing education research.

Waiver of Proposed Rulemaking

    In accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 553), 
it is the practice of the Secretary to offer interested parties the 
opportunity to comment on proposed regulations. However, because this 
notice merely establishes procedural requirements for review of 
applications and does not create substantive policy, proposed 
rulemaking is not required under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(A).
    (The valid OMB control number for this collection of information is 
1850-0601.)

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONCTACT: Delores Monroe, Office of Educational 
Research and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education, 555 New Jersey 
Avenue, NW, room 627f, Washington, DC 20208. Telephone: (202) 219-2229. 
(E-mail [email protected]). If you use a telecommunications device 
for the deaf (TDD), you may call the Federal Information Relay Service 
(FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
    Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an 
alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer 
diskette) on request to the contact person listed in the preceding 
paragraph.

Electronic Access to This Document

    You may view this document, as well as all other Department of 
Education documents published in the Federal Register, in text or Adobe 
Portable Document Format (PDF) on the Internet at either of the 
following sites:

    http://ocfo.ed.gov/fedreg.htm
    http://www.ed.gov/news.html

    To use the PDF you must have the Adobe Acrobat Reader Program with 
Search, which is available free at either of the previous sites. If you 
have questions about using the PDF, call the U.S. Government Printing 
Office (GPO), toll free, at 1-888-293-6498; or in the Washington, DC 
area at (202) 512-1530.


    Note: The official version of this document is the document 
published in the Federal Register. Free Internet access to the 
official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal 
Regulations is available on GPO Access at:

    http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/index.html



    Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 6031(c)(2)(B).

    Dated: February 23, 2000.
C. Kent McGuire,
Assistant Secretary for Educational Research and Improvement.
[FR Doc. 00-4770 Filed 2-28-00; 8:45 am]
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